BONUS PAYMENTS DEPEND ON MANY FACTORS-SHREVEPORTTIMES.COM ARTICLE -12-22-08
shreveporttimes.com
December 22, 2008
Bonus payments depend on many factors
By Bobbie J. Clark
bobbieclark@gannett.com
All land is not created equal.
Just ask a landman or someone who is negotiating a mineral lease.
Bonus payments for leases have varied, with reports of people getting more than $15,000 per acre, while others have gotten offers of around $5,500 per acre.
Allan Seabaugh, a local oil and gas attorney, drafted clauses for a lease with Petrohawk Energy Corporation worth $16,550 an acre for neighborhoods around Ellerbe, Norris Ferry and Wallace Lake roads.
Competition was the primary reason they got so much, Seabaugh said.
They were able to pit Petrohawk and Chesapeake Energy against each other, driving the price higher and higher. "They bid hard for it," he said. "We were pretty fortunate."
There are several factors that go into lease bonuses, including accessibility to a drill site and pipelines and contiguous acreage, Seabaugh said. Rural communities will probably get the higher prices because there are fewer people with more acreage, he added.
Clay Baskin, director of public relations for Twin Cities Development, said it is easier — and cheaper — for them to deal with one person who has 300 acres, instead of hundreds of people who have a tenth of an acre each.
Twin Cities handles lease acquisition for Chesapeake, which has the most land under lease at about 550,000 acres.
"There's a lot less legwork," he said. "It cuts down on our overhead costs."
Twin Cities' initial offer for landowners is $5,500 per acre, but that number is not set in stone.
For example, The Times has reported the Dogwood Homeowners Association recently made a recommendation to accept Twin Cities Development's offer of $8,750 per acre, if 90 percent of the Dogwood community signs leases.
The Greenacres Place neighborhood in Bossier City has gotten Twin Cities' standard offer of $5,500 per acre, if 90 percent of the neighborhood signs, according to the latest offer sheet.
Baskin said people who live in more urban areas have a better chance to sign a lease if they come to them with a large tract of land.
That's exactly what the ShreveCentre Coalition is trying to do.
Currently, it is made up of 16 neighborhood associations in Shreveport.
Larry Farley, one of the group's organizers, said few neighborhoods in Shreveport have gotten — much less signed — a mineral lease.
"We're still getting organized," he said. "One of the neighborhoods now in the coalition ... previously put a package together and went to Chesapeake. They told them to get with some other (neighborhoods) and come back."
That's easier said than done. Many don't know who to contact or where to get started.
Ora Hart, president of the Cedar Grove Neighborhood Association, said her community has yet to receive any lease offers.
"I went to a meeting, but they couldn't tell me who was working in Cedar Grove," she said. "We should be getting something. Cedar Grove is such a large area."
The South West Shreveport Home Owners Coalition is another group of neighborhoods that has banded together to negotiate mineral leases.
Jerry Merrill, an oil and gas professional, has helped several neighborhoods in the coalition negotiate leases.
The latest lease bonus he negotiated netted $10,750 an acre. However, he has heard of much higher numbers. Without being specific, he said a church off Kingston Road got $17,500 an acre.
He also has heard of someone getting $25,000 an acre for 12.5 acres.
"They are paying insane money for these properties," he said. "This whole area is blessed."
Tom Dark, chief administrative officer for the city of Shreveport, advised that people will be best served by joining one of the two neighborhood coalitions in town.
"If not, then people can go door to door to see if they can find some neighbors to join them," he said.
The more neighborhoods that come together, the better the price will be when negotiations come around, he added.
Dark said there was a time when the highest bonus numbers were hovering around $10,000 an acre. Now, the big ones are at $20,000.
"It's clear the market is still interesting," he said. "There is a limit. We just don't know where it is. We were told sometime ago that it might be the upper teens or low 20s."
Additional Facts
RELATED LINKS
Petrohawk Energy Corporation: http://www.petrohawk.com/home/
Chesapeake Energy: http://www.chk.com/
December 22, 2008
Bonus payments depend on many factors
By Bobbie J. Clark
bobbieclark@gannett.com
All land is not created equal.
Just ask a landman or someone who is negotiating a mineral lease.
Bonus payments for leases have varied, with reports of people getting more than $15,000 per acre, while others have gotten offers of around $5,500 per acre.
Allan Seabaugh, a local oil and gas attorney, drafted clauses for a lease with Petrohawk Energy Corporation worth $16,550 an acre for neighborhoods around Ellerbe, Norris Ferry and Wallace Lake roads.
Competition was the primary reason they got so much, Seabaugh said.
They were able to pit Petrohawk and Chesapeake Energy against each other, driving the price higher and higher. "They bid hard for it," he said. "We were pretty fortunate."
There are several factors that go into lease bonuses, including accessibility to a drill site and pipelines and contiguous acreage, Seabaugh said. Rural communities will probably get the higher prices because there are fewer people with more acreage, he added.
Clay Baskin, director of public relations for Twin Cities Development, said it is easier — and cheaper — for them to deal with one person who has 300 acres, instead of hundreds of people who have a tenth of an acre each.
Twin Cities handles lease acquisition for Chesapeake, which has the most land under lease at about 550,000 acres.
"There's a lot less legwork," he said. "It cuts down on our overhead costs."
Twin Cities' initial offer for landowners is $5,500 per acre, but that number is not set in stone.
For example, The Times has reported the Dogwood Homeowners Association recently made a recommendation to accept Twin Cities Development's offer of $8,750 per acre, if 90 percent of the Dogwood community signs leases.
The Greenacres Place neighborhood in Bossier City has gotten Twin Cities' standard offer of $5,500 per acre, if 90 percent of the neighborhood signs, according to the latest offer sheet.
Baskin said people who live in more urban areas have a better chance to sign a lease if they come to them with a large tract of land.
That's exactly what the ShreveCentre Coalition is trying to do.
Currently, it is made up of 16 neighborhood associations in Shreveport.
Larry Farley, one of the group's organizers, said few neighborhoods in Shreveport have gotten — much less signed — a mineral lease.
"We're still getting organized," he said. "One of the neighborhoods now in the coalition ... previously put a package together and went to Chesapeake. They told them to get with some other (neighborhoods) and come back."
That's easier said than done. Many don't know who to contact or where to get started.
Ora Hart, president of the Cedar Grove Neighborhood Association, said her community has yet to receive any lease offers.
"I went to a meeting, but they couldn't tell me who was working in Cedar Grove," she said. "We should be getting something. Cedar Grove is such a large area."
The South West Shreveport Home Owners Coalition is another group of neighborhoods that has banded together to negotiate mineral leases.
Jerry Merrill, an oil and gas professional, has helped several neighborhoods in the coalition negotiate leases.
The latest lease bonus he negotiated netted $10,750 an acre. However, he has heard of much higher numbers. Without being specific, he said a church off Kingston Road got $17,500 an acre.
He also has heard of someone getting $25,000 an acre for 12.5 acres.
"They are paying insane money for these properties," he said. "This whole area is blessed."
Tom Dark, chief administrative officer for the city of Shreveport, advised that people will be best served by joining one of the two neighborhood coalitions in town.
"If not, then people can go door to door to see if they can find some neighbors to join them," he said.
The more neighborhoods that come together, the better the price will be when negotiations come around, he added.
Dark said there was a time when the highest bonus numbers were hovering around $10,000 an acre. Now, the big ones are at $20,000.
"It's clear the market is still interesting," he said. "There is a limit. We just don't know where it is. We were told sometime ago that it might be the upper teens or low 20s."
Additional Facts
RELATED LINKS
Petrohawk Energy Corporation: http://www.petrohawk.com/home/
Chesapeake Energy: http://www.chk.com/
Views: 161
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on
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hoover. I always include the date of the article when I post it. It's not especially that great an article as the title makes us think they are going to tell us more about how different tracts are valued and maybe give some examples of resent bonus offers. Kinda thin. But in my opinion, in the future there will be a wide variance in bonus offers based on the unique location and extent of the land and they needs of the operator. No more blanket offers for large areas with the possible exception of some urban neighborhood associations. And those will not beat the bonus offers for good size rural properties. To much extra expense associated with inner-city drilling and production.
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Permalink Reply by The_Baron on
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It does sound like a rehashed article from before, it is vaugly familiar.
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Permalink Reply by hoover182 on
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Oh I noticed the date. It's just that the article seems to go directly against the conventional wisdom of the past due months when it comes to lease bonuses (at least what I've read on GHS.com). It was certainly exciting to read and I hope it's indicative of a more positive trend than I've inferred recently.
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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on
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Baron and hoover. If I hadn't received some recent private contacts that led me to believe there was some validity in the article, I would not have posted it. I think bonus offers will vary by approximately $6,000 to $8,000/acre in the first quarter of the new year. And the variance will be directly related to the specific details of the tract and it's usefulness to an operator. Little head to head competition. Example, your tract (10 acres) is not suitable for a drilling pad and there are no plans for any surface operations like pipelines - $4,000 to $6,000 per acre. Your neighbor just down the road has a larger tract (40 acres) that is well suited to surface operations - $10,000 to $12,500/acre. THESE ARE MY ESTIMATES. And the economy will have a bearing. Land/Mineral owners should do their mineral estate homework and learn what is valued by the operators. The scatter gun approach is gone. And gone for good. That does not mean that there will not be some attractive offers for those who know how to negotiate.
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Permalink Reply by The_Baron on
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I tend to agree with you Skip.
I personally believe The Times is behind the ball (again!).
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Permalink Reply by P.G. on -
Sounds like that reporter was getting close to the deadline without a story and cobbled one together, huh?
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Permalink Reply by The_Baron on
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I agree, just wait till next week, they will have an article about a supposed housing bubble.
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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on
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Ray. Yep, it is. Grice let me know soon after it was posted. I left it up to generate some discussion concerning bonus projections. Everyone needs to be ready when leasing picks up next month. And have some way of judging the offers they will receive.
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Permalink Reply by Dion Warr, CPL on
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Skip:
You're killing me. Just when I thought I could make a couple of happy phone calls...
I do believe that your numbers should be couched or tempered by saying that these would be on unsolicited offers to lease made by O&G. The broader area, as you allude to, in which O&G may currently have 'no' interest, is going to stay low until someone (old player, new player, established non-HS regional player) starts to generate interest in the broader HS area, outside the current restricted areas of interest.
Agree?
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